Diamondbacks' Jake Lamb: Avoids arbitration with D-backs

Lamb agreed to a one-year, $4.275 million deal with the Diamondbacks on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

This was Lamb's first offseason as an arbitration-eligible player, and he was rewarded for his impressive offensive production over his first three-plus seasons. Lamb cut his strikeout rate and upped his walk rate last season, but he remains a liability against left-handed pitching (44 wRC+ in 2017, 47 wRC+ against southpaws for his career). He makes for a good source of power and counting stats, but his batting average will be middling as long as he is an everyday player.